The Guadalupe City Council has approved a new 15-unit housing development designed for families in the city’s Gularte neighborhood. The development comes as Guadalupe continues to add housing and expand services for working families, including a new early learning center that opened nearby earlier this year.
The Gonzales Family Apartments project will bring 15 rental homes to a one-acre site near Mary Buren Elementary School and a recently opened early learning center.
Developer Gilbert Gonzales said the project was intentionally designed with larger units and outdoor space for families rather than maximizing the number of apartments on the site.
“We could have shrunk this thing up and put 30 units on top of there just to fill it up to try to make income,” Gonzales said. “But that's not the idea of what we're trying to do here. We want it to be usable. We got a yard for people to go and play in the backyard and a picnic area.”
The units will each include three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and private yard space. City staff said the homes will be more than 1,200 square feet.
“The idea to build these apartments slash single-family dwellings is to give a better living environment for families,” Gonzales said.
Council members spent much of the discussion focused on parking concerns in the surrounding neighborhood. City staff recommended replacing enclosed garages with open carports, arguing garages could eventually be converted into storage space and force more vehicles onto nearby streets.
The council ultimately approved the project with carports included in the final design. City planners also said the project will turn an underused lot into new housing as Guadalupe continues expanding residential and family services in the area.
